Islam, in addition to its creedal aspects, is both a legal and moral tradition, similar to Judaism. In other words, a believer’s piety is reflected in his or her moral character as well as in a commitment to legal principles that touch on the central aspects of life. One of the core objectives of the Islamic Law and Theology major is to familiarize students with the history and the intricacies of these legal principles, and to help them comprehend their continued viability in a changing world. That familiarization is not confined to legal rulings. It includes introducing the student to the philosophy, principles, and precepts that guided Islamic legal thought for over a millennium and gave it a flexibility often not fully appreciated or understood.
Theology has always been central to the Muslim intellectual quest. Many scholars opine that Islamic theology was named ‘ilm al-kalam, or the Science of Discourse, partly because of the lengthy discussions it generated. Since the earliest times, great minds have been occupied with issues related to the names, attributes, and characteristics of God; the relationship between God and humans; the scope of God’s power; and the efficacy of His decree. Another primary objective of this major is to provide students with the essential philosophical and analytical tools they need to navigate these and other issues, such as atheism, the nature of good and evil, and relativism, in the contemporary intellectual climate.
By providing a firm grounding in these twin areas, the Major in Islamic Law and Theology will connect students to the very heart of the Muslim intellectual tradition. Regardless of the career path they ultimately choose, graduates will be able to nurture and internalize a balanced Islam—deeply rooted in the past, applicable to the present, and prepared for the future.
Areas of Study for Islamic Law and Theology Major back to top
Jurisprudence (Fiqh):
Students will critically examine matters of religious devotion and social interaction as interpreted in the canonical schools of Islamic law. Students will learn how human actions are legally classified and how to associate those classifications with the basic acts of worship. A wide range of practical topics will be examined, including the five pillars of Islam, Islamic finance and business ethics, and inheritance law. There will be a special emphasis on family law and jurisprudence from the prophetic tradition. Students will also analyze how power structures and cultural and social influences relate to the Muslim juridical tradition. This area of study will provide the student with a firm knowledge base to independently answer more complicated legal questions.
Legal Theory (Usul al-Fiqh):
Students will be acquainted with the primary and secondary sources of Islamic law as well as the interpretive and theoretical tools that have guided its derivation. They will be introduced to the important role of ethics in Muslim legal theory. Students will also be grounded in the rules for textual interpretation from a linguistic and logical perspective and learn the prerequisites for independent juridical reasoning (ijtihad). This will enable them, through future study, to contribute to the formulation of Islamic legal rulings designed for the contemporary context.
Theology (Usul al-Din):
Students will become acquainted with Muslim theology, especially the beliefs that characterize normative Islam. Students will examine both objective and subjective propositions and arguments for God’s existence and the divine characteristics. They will also study prophecy, eschatology, divine providence, the historical context for speculative theology, and related subjects. Students will also be exposed to comparative theology and current intellectual and philosophical discourses
Hadith Science (Mustalah al-Hadith):
Students will learn about the Islamic science of textual criticism and authentication. They will be introduced to the six major canons of hadith transmission and their authors, and they will study the nomenclature of the science of hadith, its principles, and rules of verification, corroboration, and devaluation. Students will acquire the tools necessary to engage in critical analysis of the soundness of scriptural reports.
Islamic Spirituality (Ihsan):
Students will study the historical evolution of Islamic spirituality from the era of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to the present; the principles of spirituality and its ethical foundations; the rise of Sufi orders and their basic distinctions; the different trends of this spiritual science; the maladies of the soul and their treatments; and other related matters. The study of Islamic spirituality will be enhanced with an introduction to Western psychology.
Logic (Mantiq):
Logic, in one form or another, has always been central to the human intellectual enterprise. Islam, which has produced one of the richest intellectual traditions in human history, is no exception. Building on the work of their predecessors, particularly the Greeks, Muslim logicians were able to develop a distinct system of logic, uniquely suited for examining concepts, ideas, and strictures rooted in divine revelation. Logic provided the building blocks used by Muslim scholars to define and categorize their knowledge, to structure sound arguments, and to assess both the veracity and import of the knowledge and arguments of others. Logic so defined the traditional Islamic intellectual enterprise that it would be difficult for a student to profitably study higher levels of theology, law, language, or exegesis without being familiar with the principles of logic and with the specialized vocabulary used by Muslim logicians. At Zaytuna College, we intend to restore logic to the central position it has occupied in the Muslim curriculum.
Arabic:
Students must attain a level of proficiency in Arabic that will enable them to continue their study of Islamic texts written in Arabic. This requirement will familiarize students with core areas of the Arabic language, including rhetoric, grammar, morphology, and syntax.
Course Listings back to top
The four-year Bachelor’s degree program in Islamic Law and Theology requires a total of 137 units of course work (78 units that satisfy the major and specialization and 59 units of general education courses). Courses in Arabic language count toward fulfilling the general education requirement in the first two years. The 78 units for the major are further subdivided into 30 lower-division units and 48 upper-division units. Students are also required to complete 6 units in Civic Engagement and Community Service prior to graduation. (Course descriptions for the first year, as well as the proposed four-year curriculum, are available below.)
Year 1 | 1st Semester
| 3 units | Islamic History: Seventh Century to 1492 |
| 3 units | English Composition |
| 3 units | Introduction to Islamic Theology |
| 4 units | Intermediate Arabic 1 |
| 3 units | Islamic Law 1: Prayer and Fasting |
Year 1 | 2nd Semester
| 3 units | Islamic History: 1492 to Present |
| 3 units | Introduction to Economics |
| 3 units | Islamic Law 2: Zakat and Pilgrimage |
| 3 units | Ancient Civilizations |
| 4 units | Intermediate Arabic 2 |
Year 2 | 1st Semester
| 3 units | Islamic Law: History and Development |
| 3 units | Advanced Arabic 1 |
| 3 units | Introduction to Comparative Politics |
| 3 units | Introduction to Critical Thinking and Logic |
| 3 units | Astronomy |
| 3 units | Prophetic Biography |
Year 2 | 2nd Semester
| 3 units | Cosmology |
| 3 units | Advanced Arabic 2 |
| 3 units | Introduction to Qur’anic Sciences |
| 3 units | Introduction to Hadith Sciences |
| 3 units | Introduction to Rhetoric |
Year 3 | 1st Semester
| 3 units | Arabic Rhetoric |
| 3 units | Introduction to Sociology |
| 3 units | Introduction to Jurisprudential Principles 1 |
| 3 units | American History |
| 3 units | Introduction to Ethical Reasoning |
| 3 units | Statistics and Quantitative Reasoning |
Year 3 | 2nd Semester
| 3 units | Arabic Literature |
| 3 units | Introduction to Jurisprudential Principles 2 |
| 3 units | Issues in Islamic Theology |
| 3 units | Introduction to Philosophy |
| 3 units | American Constitutional Law |
| 3 units | Islamic Spirituality |
Year 4 | 1st Semester
| 3 units | Comparative Religion |
| 3 units | Legal Issues in the Qur’an: Marriage and Divorce |
| 3 units | Legal Issues in the Hadith: Marriage and Divorce |
| 3 units | Introduction to Legal Maxims and Universals |
| 3 units | Islamic Business Law |
Year 4 | 2nd Semester
| 3 units | Comparative Theology |
| 3 units | Effective Community Leadership |
| 3 units | Muslims in America: History, Development, and Future Prospects |
| 3 units | Islamic Inheritance Law |
| 3 units | Penal Code and Equity in Islamic Law |
